Bride Pride, the World's Largest All-Girl Wedding & Renewal Ceremony returns to Provincetown October 19, 2019 at the height of Women's Week, the longest running women's cultural event in the country.

While we originally intended to host a 2018 ceremony, we felt the pull and calling of the November 2018 mid-term elections - it didn't feel right to throw a party while our democracy, environment, and rights hung in the balance. So we wait and we refocus our efforts and we vote and we clear the way for 2019.

In what will be Bride Pride's third act of Love, we hope truly to be able to celebrate. Start spreading the word! Let's plan on an amazing Ceremony for the world to witness.

The Bride Pride registration site is live. So, if you're looking to tie the knot or renew your vows, go pop the question and register here.

Many years ago, I went on a personal growth retreat. I’m not doing it justice by calling it that, but it literally changed me. After a week filled with bodywork, energy work, meditation, reiki, fitness, spiritual workshops and more - I found inspiration, healing and transformation. Toward the end of the week, I snuck up to my room to shoot a ‘selfie’ (a no-no since we were supposed to be disconnected from the real world) and then sent it to my wife who immediately texted back saying she didn’t recognize me. Had I previously been wearing the weight of the world on my face? Was I carrying the stress ofcaring for my live-in dad? Was I trying to control the outcome of way too many decisions - most, not even my own? A resounding yes to all three. After a week of giving in and letting go during an enlightened week at the beach in Corolla, North Carolina, I shed an old skin. There I was in the laid back Outer Banks, prized for its seclusion, funky shops and restaurants - three must-haves during my favorite getaways. Turned out, it was the seclusion component that put the personal in personal retreat.

You don’t have to pack a bag and take off on a year-long quest of self-discovery like Eat, Pray, Love’s Elizabeth Gilbert did. And, you don’t have to walk naked through a labyrinth in order for you psyche to meet your spirit. But, if you can find a way to experience the cleansing of the mind, body and soul, you can find your inspiration, recharge your biological batteries and restore your emotional well-being which, by the way, won’t remind you on its own it’s time to do so. Sometimes, we become so locked in our overworked, overwhelmed and overwrought daily lives moving relentlessly from one thing to the next, we leave no room for just being. Or, even contemplating about being. Or, deciding what matters. To step off of life’s ferris wheel and have a season with yourself - no matter the length. This is what it means to retreat. To pause. To set aside an extraordinary amount of time to do something for the sake of your soul. The added benefit? You’ll be inspired to break out of your comfort zone and make meaningful and sometimes unexpected connections with (wait for it) yourself.

One of best parts about re-treating is that you get to be the designer. Retreats can be spiritual and cleansing and tied to silent bliss or it they can be a getaway with friends to chill and chew the fat — because everyone sooner or later goes through ‘group withdrawal.’ Not all retreats are created equal. They are as diverse as you, so it’s best to know what you want to achieve and what will feed your soul.

Truthfully, it doesn’t really matter what it is as long your retreat provides you with some personal hardware restoration. And, even better, make the effort to travel outside of your local geographical zone, with or without like-minded peeps, to get your retreat on.

During the last weeks of Autumn, like many business owners in Provincetown, my honey and I will likely emanate a full body collective sigh as we delve into the end of fall and soon, the beginning of winter, when the Town takes a deep breath and takes on a calmer vibe. Can a Town retreat? This one does. The slower seasons look good on Provincetown and man, does it know it. In essence, Provincetown retreats unto itself. It relaxes. Unwinds. No matter the month, this town is always a magnet for lovers of life, nature darlings, artsy types and fun-seekers. The diverse and colorful culture doesn’t go away; it’s just appreciated more by those of us who can experience it with a little more wiggle room. Those of us who live here will swing our arms again as we walk down Commercial Street without hitting the arms of hundreds of others who were once here to catch a glimpse of all that oozes from a Provincetown Summer.

As we exhale, we can finally see the gorgeous scarlets, reds and oranges of our blazing foliage and, we can hug the open beaches. In Winter, the town steps up its game with a remarkably laid-back scene - one with which you can’t help have an affair. I’m not just doing a verbal tap dance here about our tiny nation at the end of the world. The vibe here, when you have the time to sniff it, is warm and playful. It encompasses the kind of intimate charm that exists in people. There’s a cozy, charming familiarity amongst those eight to nine hundred who remain here. Not everyone knows everyone - but what a good Winter project to take on. They are (we are) a spirited and authentic group of local creatives, and others who love them, who know how to play up the casual cool and firmly believe their neighborhood has a distinct appeal offering a cozy, laid back vibe. Period.

Some towns “re-open” to tourists every year during their busy season, but from where we sit, this Town is always open. Sure, we settle in for a quieter season, but we welcome all to come feel what we feel. Those who do venture here to take advantage of our slow-lane shoulder season charms and lower rates are warmly welcomed. Truth is, Provincetown IS a retreat. In a way, the town is like a complete adult jungle gym with a cultural twist.

Maybe you’re longing for a Lost Girl’s Weekend with your besties where you can design your own special sabbatical. Think dinner and a Movie; Mani-Pedi’s; in room Aroma Touch massages; or a Spa day; reading quietly; a Curated Gallery tour or just hanging in doing a whole lot of nothing. Got writer’s block? Need to carve out space to think? Go alone or grab your writing group and get out of town to write without distraction. Maybe you need a respite focused on fitness or health, such as raw food immersion or juice detox. How about those company retreats - because getting people out of the office is still a great way to bust through broken team dynamics and strengthen the company culture, whether it’s a start-up or start-over. And, what artist couldn’t use a little extrasensory chill? Or, quite the opposite with a total immersion into art classes culminating in a breakthrough.

Those who retreat with us get a deep sense of the unique Provincetown culture. You don’t have to brave a new language and it’s easy to spend time meeting locals. Here in the oldest art colony in the country, you can curate whatever you want. All you have to do is get away from your phone, your office, your home, your schedule, and your entourage for a few days or a week if you can and you will feel renewed when you return. The most productive thing you can do is to do nothing for big chunks of time and stop deferring the life you want to live.

Come hang out at our Winter Coffee House at the Mews. Stretch it out in a yoga class. Do a customized beer crawl at the still open restaurants. Or, start that book. And, if you do grab a lobster roll, try eating it while walking down Commercial Street. We promise - No side glances. No eye rolling. And, no bumping into anyone else.

Provincetown is the perfect backdrop for any wedding, but for the LGBTQ community it is a safe harbor where love truly is love - and everyone knows it.

Thirteen years ago, on May 17, 2004, hundreds of same-sex couples lined up outside City Halls across the state to apply for their marriage licenses in Massachusetts - the first state to recognize same-sex marriage in the country . In June of 2016, a long-sought-after victory was won and the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage a right nationwide.

A time for celebration; on paper - certainly. We queers, with the law of the land on our side, were now legally allowed to marry anywhere. As the new reality set-in, it began to beg the question: Do we still need to go to gay-friendly places to marry? We believed so, but the answer became incredibly clear to us last year, when women from across the planet descended upon Provincetown to proclaim their love for each other during Bride Pride - The World's Largest All-Girl Wedding & Renewal Ceremony . Stories shared with us by women from Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and other less than accepting places made it more evident than ever: while same-sex marriage might be legal across the country and you can marry anywhere, it certainly doesn't mean it's safe. On that sunny day in October, we knew Bride Pride 2017 was in the stars - and now, more than ever, given the Hitchcockian times in which we all find ourselves.

Today, we find ourselves in what feels like a very different world and, so, we believe its more important than ever to lean into love to show the world what the face of love looks like and to do that from Provincetown - the gayest zip code in the country.

On July 22, 2017, at the height of Provincetown's epic Girl Splash and the summer season, Bride Pride - The World's Largest All-Girl Wedding & Renewal - returns to Provincetown turning up the heat; leaning into love bigger and bolder. Last year, 106 women from around the planet married or renewed their vows. Help us make history and join us at Provincetown’s historic Pilgrim Monument for the ceremony of a lifetime! Join your tribe and show the world what love looks like. Please share our message and video wildly and with free abandon! Deadline for registering for wedding: June 22, 2017. There is no deadline for registering for a renewal ceremony. To REGISTER or LEARN more: www.brideprideptown.com

While same-sex marriage is legal across the country and you can marry anywhere, it certainly doesn’t mean it’s safe.

Take a look at our video and then share it wildly and with free abandon.

Each and every night as my brain transitions through that stage of sleep where I begin to lose muscle tone and involuntarily twitch and jerk, my wife elbows me and asks if I’ll marry her.

“I already did,” I tell her. “Do it again,” she says. This dialogue reads true for me - not because I’m a romantic, but because I really can marry her every night, and I do. As a Universal Life Church ordained minister in the state of Massachusetts, in my own words and those approved, I sleepily utter “And, now with the power vested in my by the Commonwealth, I once again pronounce us wife and wife.” It is with an inexhaustible flood of unconditional love, and the right to marry another woman I do my civic duty. To a woman, a true partner who has the power to enchant. But, this reoccurring dream just doesn’t stop at my own wedding night.

As queer female Provincetown residents, we have high hopes for more queer women to adorn the streets of Provincetown - year round. To that end, in 2016, we put our love on our own front lawn at Bride Pride, the World’s Largest Lesbian Wedding and Renewal ceremony where 106 women descended upon Provincetown to proclaim their love and tie, or re-tie the knot, during a group ceremony officiated by LGBTQ icon, comedian and activist Kate Clinton. We turned our own private renewal ceremony (we married in 2009) into an event that attracted lovebirds ages 27 to 72. Now, we’re in the midst of producing the second annual Bride Pride scheduled at the Pilgrim Monument on July 22 during Provincetown’s epic Girl Splash week, a premier summer event for women- now in its tenth year.

The Town of Provincetown stands strong and tall in celebrating the right to marry and we are LEANING INTO LOVE bigger and bolder hoping for hundreds of women to proclaim their love in front of the world! Bride Pride isn’t only an event but a story of love and hope that ties the community together and shows the color of the “gay nation” right now, especially given the current political climate. Whether you've stopped watching the news, reading the trades or snagging your internet snippets of world drama, you can’t avoid the fact that 2017 is shaping up to be a banner year for anti-LGBT discrimination. With Bride Pride, we find one of the best ways to continue to fight discrimination is to “light it” by showing and telling the stories of the women who marry. Last year, 53 couples from across the country married or renewed at Bride Pride - each with a story, each couple showing a bond of love no different than other couples around the planet. Some of those stories — loving couples who live in towns where others don’t “approve" of their relationship — blew us away. Not that we were surprised. But, angered and reminded that while it might be legal in all of the fifty “united” states, it isn’t necessarily comfortable. The day after Bride Pride 2016 (we gave ourselves a night off), we made a commitment to continue this annual celebration of love. The message of 'same love’ is a message of Love, period.

Because this grand group wedding and renewal ceremony also has an amplified human rights appeal to it this year, we’re hoping hundreds - maybe even thousands- of women will once again come to our beloved town, and in the shadow of the Pilgrim Monument (a testament to freedom and equality), profess their love for each other. We are also hoping to attract notable couples who want to become part of the story. We want celebrities, pro-athletes, news anchors, politicians and more. Our invitation is universal - we want brides from around the globe.

If more than 100 couples are married, the event will earn the Guinness Book of World Records distinction of World’s Largest Lesbian Wedding. In honor of the brides, Bride Pride will make a donation to Cyndi Lauper’s TRUE COLORS FUND, working to end LGBT youth homelessness.

The perfect backdrop for a wedding, Provincetown is filled with stories of love, equality and acceptance and is meant to be shared with lovers. What better way to say "I Do" than surrounded by your tribe in the state where gay marriage was first made legal. We’re turning up the heat this summer, refusing to be invisible and leaning into love.